Yu-Gi-Oh Gx
Death's Grip
Chapter 11
Falling Apart

Ding! Ding!
The sound of the bell going off as the four teens left the shop faded into the midday tweeting of the birds.
Jaden happily ate at his ice cream and the other three smiled in contentment at seeing their friend happy again.
"This is great!" Jaden grinned and Jesse only shook his head.
"You said that for about the third time in a minute, Jay," the blunette chuckled. Jaden only answered his friend with a shrug as he continued to eat his frosty treat. Syrus and Bastion calmly walked beside them, only glad that Jaden was no longer in the funk he was earlier.
It had taken them fifteen minutes to walk to the ice cream shop and Jaden couldn't believe it was around the corner from school. Bastion had explained that most students came this way becuase this was the 'shopping center' of the town. So, after a long day of shopping, one would like someplace to not only rest, but maybe even eat. The brunette couldn't help but agree. While they hadn't been shopping, the walk there did make him hungry.
"You're always hungry, Jaden!" Syrus had exclaimed when the boy had said this. Indeed. It had been several weeks since meeting Jaden at the park and already he had a good idea of how Jaden acted. He was open, honest, and a pretty nice guy. While he did seem naive, he wasn't stupid.
Bastion was obviously the smartest of the group. He got straight A's and prefered mind over bron(1). Don't let that fool you, Syrus had learned first hand that, while smart, Bastion was also athletic-about as much as Jaden and Jesse.
Which lead to the final member they were now walking with-Jesse. He was the most mysterious of the group, though he perceived himself as an open book. He was kind, athletic, and alot like Jaden. Heck, the two could be twins. However, there was something about Jesse that bothered him. The blunette, when they had met, never gave his last name. Jesse didn't seem rude, but it did bother him. The other thing was his home and school. Jesse refused to introduce them to his family, and was dodgy on the subject of his schooling. Syrus had heard of a private school close to town, but was it close enough for Jesse to walk there around the time they got off school?

Don't get the younger wrong, he thought Jesse was a great guy, but n about him was. . . Off. There was also the fact that Bastion was trying to keep from making any bodily contact with him, and it appeared Jesse shared the sentiment. The taller blunette refused to touch the bare skin of anyone, not just Bastion. Hands, arms, it didn't matter. If he touched you he made sure the skin was covered by something.
"Sy?" The younger blunette jumped when the exact person of his thoughts touched his shoulder. Not too close to his exposed neck, but not his arm either.
Syrus looked at Jesse's worried, green eyes and suddenly felt bad about being suspicious. Sure, Jesse had his secrets, but that didn't make him bad.
"Yeah?" Syrus smiled but it only made Jesse frown.
"You okay there, bud?" The teen made sure to speak in a whisper, so that Jaden and Bastion, both of whom were in deep conversation, couldn't hear.
Again, the guilt hit Syrus at his friend's tone, and averted his gaze slightly,"Yeah. I was just thinking." The southerner tilted his head.
"'Bout what?"
"Nothing important."
Meanwhile, the conversation didn't go as unnoticed as they thought from the other two teens next to them.
"Is Syrus okay?" The brunette whispered, genuinely worried for his friend.
Bastion, who had an idea of what the conversation was about, frowned,"I'm sure he's fine. Jesse should be able to comfort him." Jaden didn't look one hundred percent sure, but nodded anyway.
Jesse was good with comforting conversation, but Syrus was really self-conscious. One wrong word and it could lower his self-esteem even more.
"We should probably get heading home anyway." Bastion said, indicating the setting sun,"We wouldn't want your parents to worry." The brunette gave a nod of his head and walked over to let Syrus and Jesse know.
"You're probably right." Jesse concluded, looking towards the sky. Syrus nodded in agreement.
With quick good-byes, the boys separated, each one going in a different direction to reach their home.

When Jaden got home his mother nearly screamed. It wasn't just cause of the jeans, thankfully, but the damage he had received. It took both Jaden and his father to convince her he would be fine and to go ahead and fix dinner.
While Jaden had talked during dinner, he was distracted. Something just kept bothering him, but he didn't know what. Was it that figure he saw earlier? Maybe. Or perhaps it had to do with that mist, the one that began to cover Jesse. His best friend just kept fading in and out of his vision, it didn't make sense. Why would that happen? Jesse had been there the whole time, but the brunette hadn't seen him. Syrus and Bastion acted like they didn't notice Jesse fading, so was he just going crazy? Considering the nightmares he had before starting school-
"Jaden?" His mother's worried voice brought him back to reality and he looked at her.
"Yeah, mom?"
"Is something wrong?" She asked, and Jaden wasn't sure how to answer. Both his folks already have a huge liking for Jesse, so it wouldn't be right if he told them about the strange things that have been going on.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just not very hungry I guess. Is it okay if I go to bed early?" His father and mother shared a look, but nodded.
"Thank you."

Chazz Princeton was a boy about 15 with black, spiky hair, and grey eyes. He wore a simple black jacket, red t-shirt, black pants, and brown boots.
He watched the ground as he continued to walk down the street, his hands in his pockets. It was almost that time. The anniversary. A day he dreaded to come.
It had been nearly a year since the incident, and it had caused him to be held back his freshman year. His brothers had tried to tell him he would get over it, but they were wrong. It's hard to get over something like that. Chazz didn't even have a chance to say sorry.
"Yeah, I know that." The annoyed voice quickly caught the raven's attention. Normally he would not have cared less for the voice, but something about it was. . . Familiar.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I know what I'm doing." His head swiveled around until he spotted a figure near a lamp-post in front of the card shop. The same shop they always used to hang out at.
The person had their back to him, but he could clearly see they were male and wore a uniform with some shade of blue hair. They were talking on the phone, hand on their hip, seeming to scan up and down the street.
"You think I like havin' to lie? It's the only thing I can do right now!" They waited for a response.
"Oh, and I'm sure you had a better idea." Chazz could clearly hear the thick accent, and shock took over reason. Without thinking he took a few steps closer and allowed his voice to drift towards the 'stranger'.
"Jesse?"

Jaden walked out of the bathroom with a yawn. The warm water had helped to calm his nerves and he now wore red sweatpants, and a black tank top. Simple night wear to keep him warm and cool.
However, no matter how long he spent in the shower, it still never took his mind off of Jesse. His thoughts kept drifting back to the blunette and he felt himself frown. Since when was he so perceptive? Back at his old town he never thought this much.
"What am I gonna do?" Jaden whispered as he opened his room door and prepared for sleep.

Jesse felt himself stiffen at the voice and suddenly the one loop hole in his plan he didn't see had become reality.
The southerner turned around and his eyes, along with Chazz's, went wide.
"Jesse?" The voice on the other end could clearly be heard, but Jesse couldn't bring himself to answer him.
"Jess? Is something wrong? You still there?" He could tell he was getting annoyed so Jesse quickly answered,"I'll call you back about this."
"But-" The other didn't have time to answer becuase the blunette had already slammed the phone shut.
Not once did their eyes drift from eachother and grey bored into green.
"Jesse?" Chazz asked again, his voice full of disbelief,"Is that you?"

He glared intently at the phone, Jesse having hung up for no reason. Did he run into trouble? Probably, but he wouldn't have sounded so shocked if he did. Did that man show up? An interesting thought, but Jesse wasn't his target. That man was Jesse's.
With a sigh, he looked towards the window. The light had gone off maybe ten minutes ago, so it was possible he was asleep by now. Perhaps he should-
A shadow suddenly darted past and opened one of the windows to the foyer. Without hesitation, he quickly redialed Jesse's number and began to make his way over to the opened window.

To be continued...

A/N-Hey! It's been awhile hasn't it? Well I'm back, for now. I'm uploading this from my grandma's and it shouldn't be long before I upload the next chapter. Sorry it's been so long. How long has it been? Nearly a year? Two years tops? Too long in my opinion. But don't worry, I've been keeping an eye on these things as best as I could. I'm very proud to hear you guys liked the previous chapters so much. I don't know when I'll get around to fixing them, but for now I'll just upload the new chapter for you. Do any of you guys still have faith in this story? I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't, and that is sort of my fault. The point is, the internet is hard for me to come by anymore, and it could be months before my next big update. So I'm going to warn you ahead of time- do not be surprised if you don't see any proper updates. As for my story, Absolute Madness, it will be undergoing major changes. I'm not too proud of Kasey and how she was turning out, but I believe I finally have her straightened out and I have some new friends I want to introduce you to as well. However, the editing and fixing for that story could take forever, so don't wait up for it. I also have some other stories in the works that are not Gx related. Be on the look out for those. So my official projects are Death's Grip, Absolute Madness, and any new stories coming up. Everything else has been put on hold. I've been spreading myself too thin, and it's about time I straightened out. Anyway, my long monologue aside, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
1-Did I spell that right? Please tell me if I didn't.